[Nolug] CNN: Microsoft promised political access

Hello everyone; I'm new to Linux and this group. So far, I'm very happy
with Linux and a firm believer in the Open-Source and Free Software
movements. Here is an eye-opening article -- especially as it pertains
to Microsoft. Enjoy.

Source: CNN.COM

Documents: Donors promised political access
Memos released by supporters of new campaign law

WASHINGTON (AP) --Political party officials and the donors they solicit
have routinely linked big contributions to government business, from
merger approvals to meetings with top officials, according to previously
sealed court documents that offer a window into the business of fund
raising in Washington.

"As you recall in our conversation some weeks ago, you agreed to upgrade
your Team 100 membership to the Regent program ($250,000) when the
merger was approved," Republican Party fund-raiser Mel Sembler wrote in
2000 to the chief of the now-bankrupt Global Crossing telecommunications
company, which had already given $100,000.

"Thankfully this has now been approved, so I am taking the liberty of
enclosing an invoice for the additional upgrade," Sembler added in one
of dozens of fund-raising memos the political parties turned over to a
court hearing the first legal challenge of the nation's new campaign
finance law.

The memos were submitted to the court under seal, but they were provided
to The Associated Press and other news organizations Friday under an
agreement between the national political parties and the lawmakers who
sponsored the law.

The documents span from the Clinton years of the 1990s to the beginning
of the Bush administration and detail how party officials often cater to
donors and lace their pitches for money with promises of meetings with
top officials.

"These documents show how the game is played in Washington, and you have
to be able to pay to play," said Kent Cooper, co-founder of
PoliticalMoneyLine, a nonpartisan Web site that tracks campaign finance,
and a former Federal Election Commission official. "We expect these
documents will trigger further investigations."

AP left messages Friday at the office of several of the people named in
the documents seeking comment.

"Gave 100K last year and 20K this year. Ask her to give 80K more this
year for lunch with Potus on Oct. 27th," said a 1995 memo for
then-Democratic Party chairman Don Fowler, urging that prominent donor
Denise Rich be solicited for money before attending a lunch with
President Clinton. Rich's name later surfaced in both the Clinton
fund-raising and pardon controversies.

Drug companies, some of the country's more active political donors, were
a frequent subject of memos.

In a 1999 letter, then-RNC Chairman Jim Nicholson wrote Charles
Heimbold, then chief executive of Bristol-Myers Squibb, to discuss the
company's plans to form an industry coalition to lobby for issues
important to drug companies.

"A coalition will be the perfect vehicle for the Republican Party to
reach out to the health care community and discuss their legislative
needs," Nicholson wrote. Republicans then controlled both chambers of
Congress.

"We must keep the lines of communication open if we want to continue
passing legislation that will benefit your industry."

Nicholson enclosed a copy of the RNC's health care proposals and asked
Heimbold for his suggestions to improve it. He also included an outline
of GOP lawmakers were doing involving health care legislation.

In the next paragraph, Nicholson encouraged Bristol-Myers -- already a
GOP donor -- to give $250,000 to join the Republican committee's new
"Season Pass" program, which offered donors "premier seating" at the
RNC's fund-raising gala and "VIP benefits" at the Republican
presidential nominating convention in Philadelphia in 2000.

In all, Bristol-Myers gave $291,200 to the RNC in the 1999-2000 election
cycle, according to figures compiled by the nonpartisan Center for
Responsive Politics, which tracks political contributions.

Heimbold donated $50,000 to the RNC in October 2000. He was named
ambassador to Sweden by President Bush last year.

When Microsoft Corp., a $100,000-plus donor to Republicans, planned to
attend the party's major fund-raising gala in 2000, it asked to be
seated next to "Sen. (Paul) Coverdell or leadership, Commerce Committee
or Judiciary Committee," according to a GOP memo. At the time, the
company was battling a major antitrust case that threatened to break the
company into two. The memo added Microsoft did not want to sit with Sen.
Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a major critic.

In a note to a Dow Chemical official, the director of the RNC's "Team
100" donor club, Henry Barbour, sent thanks for a contribution and
offered to arrange a meeting for Dow executives with House Speaker Newt
Gingrich, R-Georgia; Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kansas; and GOP chairman Haley
Barbour.

A 1995 Democratic National Committee fund-raising call sheet for Fowler
and Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Connecticut, scheduled a call to Texaco
lobbyist Jim Groninger.

"Reason for call: Please ask Jim to become a Trustee and contribute
$35,000. Additional notes: The President helped out the Oil Industry by
supporting them on drilling issues in the Gulf of Mexico. The bill
passed the House on Tuesday," the call sheet said.

The DNC sought $85,000 from British Petroleum in a November 1995 call:
"BP has given $66,000 to Republican committees this year. The
Administration helped them out on two major issues this year," the call
sheet said.

Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/12/06/party.promises.ap/index.html

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Received on 12/09/02